David Archuleta points his microphone at the crowd for them to sing along during his performance Thursday night at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)

David Archuleta fans surely are devoted. What is it about the “American Idol” runner-up that inspires such adoration?

That’s one of the questions on my mind as I head out for the first of three back-to-back Archuleta concerts at Tuacahn Amphitheatre. I’ll be attending the Thursday concert, and the young singer plans to play both Friday and Saturday nights there as well.

When I wrote about Archuleta’s two concerts at Tuacahn last year, I was quickly introduced to the “Archie” phenomenon. That’s what Archuleta fans calls themselves. And they are avid followers of their idol’s name in social media and mainstream media postings. I always know I can count on retweets and shares from places like the “Fans of David Archuleta” Facebook page or @THECanadaArchie on Twitter, often within minutes of posting.

These fans aren’t just young girls either. There are plenty of mature women who follow the happenings of the “Crush” singer. There are even a few men.

Joining me for the concert and my quest to find Archies is Nathan, my new “Little Brother” through Big Brothers Big Sisters. My wife, Cammie, and I are jointly mentoring the 14-year-old. We were just matched on Oct. 27. Cammie had another obligation, though, so it’s just Nathan and me.

Before the show starts, I begin looking for a few Archies. At the merchandise table I see a woman wearing an Archuleta shirt and purchasing another. I figured that’s a pretty good indicator of fandom, so I approach her and her husband to talk about Archuleta.

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David Archuleta gives a thumbs-up to his fans near the end of his Thursday night performance at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)

Karrina Raybould says she’s been a fan of the singer since his “American Idol” days in 2008.

“His voice is beautiful, and his music is really pretty,” says the St. George resident. “It’s uplifting.”

But is she an Archie? “Number one!” is her response.

Now the big question: Is her husband, Chris Raybould, an Archie? “Probably not,” but he is a fan.

“She’s probably a bigger fan, but I do enjoy his music too,” Chris says, adding that he wasn’t a fan until he met his wife four years ago. “I’ve actually grown to like quite a few of his songs.”

Karrina says this is her fourth Archuleta concert (she attended both nights at Tuacahn last year) and plans to hit the Las Vegas leg of his Christmas tour in December with her mother and sister. That will bring her up to five Archuleta shows. But has she ever screamed out “I love you!” to the singer during one of those shows?

Eventually, Nathan and I make our way into the amphitheater and take our seats on the front row, which will allow me to photograph the show as well. We’re sitting next to a couple of young students from Dixie State University so I ask them if they are Archies. Well, they’ve never seen him live, but they sure are excited for the show, even though they only got their tickets the night before.

“We were in the library studying,” says Kaitlyn Branch, of St. George. “We were sad and complaining because we didn’t have tickets.”

Then her friend, Morgan Mecham, saw a post on Facebook about a couple of tickets that were available. The ticketholder wasn’t able to use them so Mecham and Branch snatched them up. Mecham says she first became an Archuleta fan as a child when he was on “American Idol.” His song “Glorious,” from the 2014 documentary “Meet the Mormons,” reignited her interest and now she gladly embraces the title of “Archie.”

As the concert begins, opener Gracie Schram delivers a short set that features her signature “Yellow Shoes” song and a new composition about her first year as a student at Belmont University in Nashville, where Archuleta, a longtime Utahn, now lives.

Schram also toured with Archuleta last year and many of his fans have become fans of her as well. She says they have become part of her success.

“I was blown away by all the support from all the Archie fans,” Schram says.

While waiting for Archuleta to take the stage following Schram’s set, I turn around to see if any of the people behind me call themselves Archies. A trio of middle-aged women tell me they enjoy his music but they aren’t quite to the superfan stage.

Finally it’s time for the main event. The screaming begins even before Archuleta emerges from the shadows at the side of the stage. It’s Mecham’s big chance to earn her Archie badge.

“We love you!” she yells as Archuleta and his band launch into “Parachutes and Airplanes.”

A major aspect of an Archuleta concert is his storytelling. Before nearly every song he tells a story about why he wrote it or why he decided to cover it. While his performances are smooth — the seamless result of his “American Idol” training and subsequent touring — his stories are often endearingly awkward. He starts and stops, hesitating and he tries to vocalize the feelings of his heart. He often apologizes for this.

“We came here for a concert and we get storytime,” he remarks, voicing what he thinks some fans must be thinking.

When he tells the crowd that he likes to perform Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” for his sisters, the crowd responds with a collective “awwww.” When he makes self-deprecating jokes about his diminutive stature, the audience eats it up. When he forgets where he’s going with a particular story or rambles off into a tangent, they giggle with adoration.

As Archuleta sits down at the piano to accompany himself on the ballad “My Kind of Perfect,” my chair begins to vibrate slightly. I realize Mecham, sitting next to me, is so excited she’s shaking.

A few songs later I recognize part of the allure. David Archuleta is real. He’s genuine. What you see is what you get with him. He gives of himself to his audience. He may get awkward when they yell “I love you,” but he has already showed his love to them through his engaging performances and stories.

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David Archuleta performs Thursday night with his band at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Ivins City.(Photo: Brian Passey / The Spectrum & Daily News)

After the show I turn to Branch and Mecham to see how they liked it.

“I loved him like 20 times more — 20,000 times more,” Mecham says.

Branch says she wants to go home, put on “Glorious” (the final song of the night) and cry herself to sleep. I’m assuming they will be tears of happiness.

“The song he sang in Spanish just made my heart melt,” she says. “He’s so cute.”